ALLENTOWN, Pa. — After many years, Allentown will see its first Pride Parade this weekend.
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center will hold its first Pride Parade at 11 a.m. Sunday on Hamilton Street, from 12th to 8th streets.
- Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center will hold its first Pride Parade on Sunday
- A step-off ceremony will occur on Allentown's Hamilton Street, between 12th and 13th Streets. at 10:30 a.m. The parade will start at 11 a.m. and will last about an hour
- The free festival part of Lehigh Valley Pride will start at 2 p.m. Sunday at SteelStacks in Bethlehem
The parade will be part of the 30th anniversary celebration of Lehigh Valley Pride. The center’s pride festival in Bethlehem and an Easton flag-raising ceremony will happen on the same day.
“This year, Lehigh Valley Pride will be an all day, three-city celebration!” an Instagram post from the center reads.
Staging for the Allentown parade will occur at 10 a.m. on Hamilton Street between 13th and 12th streets, with the step-off ceremony at 10:30 a.m.
The parade then will start at 11 a.m. and last about an hour.
The free festival portion of Lehigh Valley Pride will start at 2 p.m. Sunday at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.
“Folks will have plenty of time to get over to the SteelStacks for the official festival,” the post reads.
Past Pride Parades in Allentown
While this is the first Pride Parade put on by Bradbury-Sullivan Center, it is not the first in the city, according to longtime Lehigh Valley LGBTQ activist Liz Bradbury.
Lehigh Valley Pride, which used to be a separate organization, held several parades in the early 2000s, she said.
“They didn’t seem to energize the community."Longtime Lehigh Valley LGBTQ activist Liz Bradbury
Bradbury said the organization decided to stop holding the parades because they are “very expensive” and were not the primary draw to Lehigh Valley Pride.
“They didn’t seem to energize the community,” Bradbury said.
Despite that, Bradbury, who is no longer part of the organization, said she is glad it is hosting one and that she will be in the parade.
